Iniquity, Absolution and Justice
by Flying-Sorcery
Summary: Ember has been kidnapped, she comes into contact with her father - how will she react, and how can the Storm Hawks save her?...And I do own Storm Hawks! Haha, yeah right...
1. Sidana

**Ember is back in whole new adventure! Wahoo! Didn't think it would take this long to gather my ideas, but oh well… better late than never! (That's what I always say to my teachers about homework… hehe)**

**So, yeah. I'm planning on making this one a bit grittier :) Let's just say she'll be confronting her worst nightmares…**

**I just looked out the window and the moon looks like an old man singing. Maybe he's crying… I'm even scaring myself with this randomness… Okay... moving on…**

**So my dear friends please read and review… oh and thanks a lot for the ideas :) love you guys!**

**How does 'Iniquity, absolution and justice.' sound as a title? A bit heavy I think…Still can't think of one. (I chose them randomly out of a dictionary. The 4****th**** word was 'cabbage' Lol.)**

**This continues about 2 months after where we left off :)**

**OWW! CRAMP IN MY TYPING FINGER! HERE'S CHAPTER 1! OOOOWWWWW!**

…

The Storm Hawks were following a lead on the whereabouts of Cyclonis in a district called Sidana. Sidana wasn't a place you would want to be by choice. Its streets were littered with everything from petty thugs, to gangs of highly organised criminals, and so any innocent person who lived there lived in constant fear.

These past months, Cyclonis had been keeping a low profile, but recently, sightings had been rapidly increasing, especially in more criminal infested areas. They didn't know for certain, but the entire team had a hunch; she was recruiting.

Ember, being fairly local, lead the squadron through the dark, narrow back alleys.

"Piper, got anything yet?"

Piper looked down at her home-made detection instrument, which was mainly assembled from crystal scope components.

"No." she sighed. "She was here not too long ago, but she could be anywhere by now."

"ARGH! This is so frustrating! Why can't she just stay still for once?" Ember was on the verge of breaking into tears from the stress.

Aerrow broke into the conversation at this point and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Ember, calm down, it's okay… we're going to find her."

"How can you say that? We've been following leads for two months solid! And look where it's got us! Sidana of all places…"

"I promise you, we are going to find her. All these recent leads have been bringing us closer and closer to doing just that."

She tried to find a counter argument, but gave up. "Damn that optimism of yours; it's infectious. I'm sure Stork will have something for that." she said with a fatigued smirk.

Aerrow turned to the rest of the squadron "Alright guys, let's get back to the Condor. It's been a long day… Umm, how_ do _we get back to the Condor?"

Everyone turned to Ember. "Hey, don't look at me! It's Jake's turn."

Jake reluctantly took the lead, and so the rest followed. That was all apart from Ember, however. She on the other hand, had been hit unconscious from behind, and was being dragged away into the shadows…

…..

**He-he… Don't you just love short chappies and cliff-hangers? ;D**

**It's good to be back! Hope you enjoyed this chappie and I hope to hear (or see, even) some reviews.**

**ilovestormhawks****: I'm sure Devi will feel very comfortable in my story :) Thanks! (Oh, and you're completely right about Snipe lol) **

**StarKnight: Did I get your name wrong? Aww, soz : / You'll never guess what I must've been thinking about :D And thanks for the plot idea :) I think I'll use Ember part 2 'til I think of something… You're right, it is epic :)**

**RedScarfLuxio****: Mmm… good idea. That would make a plot :) **

**I'm reluctant to say what I'll be using though; got to keep you on your toes ;)**

**I'M ADDICTED TO SMILEYS! :D :D :D Lol**

**Ta-ta, Kezzy xxx**


	2. Ransom

**Hello, all! Chappie no. 2 is here!**

**StarKnight: Nooo… She's still got the good ol' red eyes, black hair look :) The crystal was completely deaded. **

**Today has been weird! First, the psychology teacher doesn't turn up (it's my only lesson today btw) so we get this guy who comes into the class and says "Once you've done this bit of work you can go." or something along those lines. **_**Skip to 10 mins later**_**. Classroom empty apart from me and 4 other people. Awkward. What do we do? We decide to decorate the bin with an origami tie, a paper hat and eyes. Lol. Good times :) Then I go round to my friend's house, where she puts a million random comments on my Facebook page in my name. Grrr. After playing on little kids swings may I add?**

**Okay, rant over…**

**Oh, and YEY! Chuck is on tonight! Love that program. :)**

**Chapter 2**

….

No-one had noticed Ember's disappearance until it was too late. They doubted her getting lost; she'd been leading them through the streets like a tour guide not too long ago. What made it worse was the fact that the pitch black sky seemed to be growing still darker, so it would be impossible to find her.

Jake seemed the most concerned. He knew her best, and he knew she wouldn't normally do this.

His train of thought was cut off by an abrupt knock on the hangar doors.

"Ember?" He ran to the door expecting his friend, but in her place was an envelope.

When he came back, everyone saw the disappointment on his face. "No-one there. Only this." he announced, throwing the letter onto the table and himself onto the sofa beside it.

"Aren't you going to open it? It could be important." reasoned Piper.

"Nah. Probably just junk mail." Piper could see he was simply being too lazy to sit up again, so opened it herself.

"It's all written in newspaper cuttings…" Her eyes widened as she scanned the page before reading it aloud.

"_Dear Storm Hawks,_

_If you wish to see your team member back on board your ship alive and well, you need to give us 700,000 gold coins, and in only gold coins. Send one person to leave the money at the door of the town hall in a bag. The deadline is in two weeks' time. Remember; one person, 700,000 gold coins. Otherwise… well, you'll just have to imagine what we'll do._

_Yours, the Friendly Neighbourhood Abductor_. "

"She's been kidnapped? How? When?" Jake was now sat bolt upright, with panic in his eyes, feeling guilty for not figuring it out sooner.

"How do we know they're for real? What if-"Finn was silenced by Aerrow, who interrupted. "I'm pretty sure they are Finn. Think about it; if they weren't a real threat, then Ember would be here laughing about how pathetic they were." (He was referring to when she teased Finn for losing to her in a game of Twister; which he normally always won.)

"Did you _really _have to bring that up? Seriously though, how do we raise that money? You could buy a luxury sky cruiser for that… or two giant disco glitter balls…"

"Not the time, Finn." Piper glared at him. "He's got a point though… How are we going to get that sort of money anytime soon?"

Jake shot up from his place on the sofa. "I don't care how, but we've got to find it…. We can't let her down."

"Jake, of course we're not going to let her down, don't worry." Aerrow assured him. "We're going to get her back, but remember that she's a smart girl and a good fighter. I'm sure she'll be fine."

_**Meanwhile…**_

Ember sat bound to a chair with coarse ropes holding her still and a filthy rag in her mouth, which acted as a gag. A heavily tattooed, rough looking man stepped into the cold, damp, dark room which she was kept in; the open door let in bright light from the corridor which temporarily blinded her.

He smirked sadistically as she blinked away the pain in her eyes.

"Well, well little missy… you'd best hope those friends of yours pay up soon. If not, you will be the one suffering." He ruffled her hair, and then walked off laughing to himself. '_This is too easy…_'

…...…

**Sorry peoples… this one is a bit of a filler (I wrote the next chappie first, but it just seemed like it needed something else…)**

**Hope it's turning out ok so far… plz review!**

**I don't really have anything else to say, so…**

**Ta-ta, Kezzy xxx**


	3. Priceless

**Saaweeeet! Fridays are good :) Especially when you start college late and finish early...**

**You know what's even sweeter? HALF-TERM! Yey yey yey yey yey! A guilt-free week of sleep-ins :D**

**Quote of the day: "Is there such a thing as happily ever after?" Deep, don't cha think?**

**He-he... Sooo... Here is chapter 3 :)**

...

The Condor had practically been stripped bare to find things worth selling. Finn even sold his guitar and music collection to help raise the money. Everyone did everything they could, but by the end of the thirteenth day, they had raised only 400,000 gold coins.

"We've got to think of another way of saving her... Maybe we could... Oh I don't know. What can we do?" Jake ran his hands through his hair while pacing the bridge.

"We could use fake money; that would give us time to free her while they're distracted." suggested Finn

"No. How would we find where they're keeping her?" said ever-reasonable Piper.

This discussion went on for quite a while, never coming to a solid conclusion.

...

_**The next day in the abductor's safe house...**_

"Oh little missy!" the tatooed man said in sing-song. "It looks like those so-called friends of yours have failed to pay your fee."

The only answer he recieved was an inaudiable insult from behind the gag and a powerful glare.

"Now, now missy. No need to be like that. And don't worry, I'll make sure your death won't be _too_ painful."

'Oh gods... this is really it... I'm going to die!' Ember thought as she resigned to her fate and gave up her struggle against the ropes.

The man revealed a dagger from his pocket, then raised it above her.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." A girl's chilling voice came from the silhouette in the doorway.

"WHAT THE- How did you get in here?" He didn't understand how she could have possibly broken through the extensive security mechanisms and guards throughout the building.

"Oh, I have my ways..."

With this, the girl held up a staff and the captor was sent sprawling to the otherside of the room, where he landed unconcious in the corner.

"Ember, I've heard so much about you." The girl stood infront of her, examining her reactions.

"People say that you're one of the best fighters ever known on this side of the Atmos. But there is something else that I've heard rumours about." Ember just stared in fear and confusion.

"Dark Ace, if you wouldn't mind..."

He entered the room, sword in hand; having just easily defeated another gang member.

Ember found it unbearable; the man who she wanted to both run a million miles away from and ask a million questions was in the same room as her, and she could do neither.

He walked over to the captive and he not only saw the fear and hatred in her eyes, but a similarity to his own.

Ember saw the shock on his face, 'Priceless.'

...

**He-he... yey, they've finally met each other! Aww... bless :)**

**Sorry if this has taken a while... I've just been doing little bits throughout the day... it's been hectic...**

**So I hope you enjoyed it, please review as always... night night :)**

**Kezzaaaaaaa! xxx**


	4. Control

**Random thought of the day: Is it just me, or do all stereotypical pirates sound like they're from Cornwall?**

**Here is Chapter 4! I don't have anything to say at the mo, so go read! :) He-he... mo so go. I find the weirdest little things funny...**

**...**

The new Cyclonian army was rapidly building up. Talons filled the old hide-out; it was now their new base of operations.

Though Ember was still tied to the chair, the gag had been removed so that she could answer the questions dealt to her. However, she was doing most of the questioning.

"Why, of all people, would _you_ save me, Cyclonis? You think if you saved me that I would gladly join your little gang? I knew brains didn't always come with power, but wow! You're in a league of your own there..." Her insult was cut short by Cyclonis, who gave her sharp shock with her staff, while the Dark Ace stood in the corner of the room with two new talons at his side; one of which stared dreamilly at him, but looked away anytime he felt her eyes on him and looked at her.

"I am the one asking the questions!" Cyclonis regained her composure, then held out a clear, yellow crystal. "Do you know what this is?"

Ember just shrugged, which was suprisingly difficult to do with ropes attatching her to a chair.

"This," she admired her workmanship for a moment "is a mind control crystal." The cocky look on her hostage's face dropped immediately. "You see, you're right about me wanting you to join my 'little gang', but I'm certain you won't be doing it gladly."

The girl who stood at side of the Dark Ace snapped out of her trance, and concentrated on the situation that was developing.

Ember struggled against the ropes as Cyclonis placed the crystal onto the end of her staff, ready to use it.

Something about the fear in the girls eyes made the Dark Ace feel guilty for not helping her, but he couldn't understand why; after all the last time he had felt anything about anyone, giving an exeption for hatred, was well over a decade ago.

For some unknown reason, he couldn't bare to see this girl suffer. So he left the room, as not to do something he would certainly regret. As he walked out of the room with his two talons, the screams of agony and defiance followed him. She put up a good fight, but eventually, all fell silent. She was now just another puppet of Cyclonis'.

...

**Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know it's short, but it'll just flow better this way, trust me. Okay? Please don't hate me... 8S (Puppy eyes + wobbly lip)**

**And anyway, my mind seems to work best with short chappies...**

**OH MY GORRRRD! NEXT WEEKEND IS GOING TO BE ****AMAZING****! I'm going to Whitby gothic weekend at Halloween :) with my bestest friends in the world :D Can't wait...**

**Bought a long black wig today especially lol**

**Any who... Please review as always (The best part of my day is reading them :)) *everyone tells me to get a life.***

**So. Yup. Hope you enjoyed it no matter how short it may be,**

**Ta-ta, Kerris xxx**


	5. Pain

**I'm back! My brain has cleared(ish)! Sorry about the wait…**

**So now that I'm writing this again, I won't be writing my next story anymore, until this has finished, which will save me from screwing up the timeline of it all.**

**Without further ado, please welcome chappie nombre cinco.**

**(My Spanish is terrible, haven't done it for 4 years… Shame, I quite liked it… I'm rambling aren't I?)**

…..

She was free to move around the room. After all, why would she try to escape or fight back now? She couldn't take back the things that she'd done, even if she couldn't remember _what_ she had done.

Although there was now reasonably comfortable furniture in the room, she chose to sit in the cold, damp corner to wallow in her misery. Knowing that she had done something awful to her friends; the people who she thought of as family, but not knowing what, had led her into a deep depression.

The girl who stood guarding the door seemed to take pity, and was about to say something, when the dark ace walked in and turned to her. "Leave us."

She looked at the captive, as if to wish her luck, then saluted and left the room. After checking no-one could see her, she took off the cyclonian uniform to reveal a different uniform; this time with armour which showed an emblem of a cat-like creature. Her name was Devi, and she was on a mission.

…..

_**With the Dark Ace + Ember**_

"Why do you look so familiar?" He crouched in front of the sobbing girl to come down to her level, for once not being at all threatening. His attempt at being pleasant was thrown back in his face.

"Look in a mirror, dumb ass." Ember had once heard that depression was just anger turned inwards, so thought this might help. To her surprise, it did.

"Other than the obvious." This argumentative side definitely reminded him of a distant memory…

"Does the name 'Jules' ring any bells?" She looked up at just the right moment to see a flash of shock on his face.

"Am I-?"

"Yup."

He sat, and just stared into space for about 5 minutes absorbing the information, then broke the silence.

"How… How did you get here? On this side of Atmos?"

Though this conversation was a little awkward, it needed to be said. "I've always been here. I was born here."

He frowned at a memory of 'the thief of his heart' as he'd once called her and looked at the floor. "I suppose that would make sense. She disappeared as soon as she found out what I was going to do." then looked back up at Ember. "How is she?"

This was turning out to be more painful than she'd guessed. "I wouldn't know. She dumped me at an orphanage when I was four." A single tear rolled down her cheek. "She said there were some 'bad people' after her. I don't know what happened after."

The Dark Ace, not knowing her reached out to wipe away his new found daughters tear.

"Don't touch me. I've done just fine without you in my life all these years, so I don't need you now. Go. Please, just go. I need to be alone."

Physical pain, he could cope with. He could even handle being beaten by a teenage boy to a certain extent. But this; this was real pain. However, he knew that, if she was anything like her mother, not to get on her bad side. Then, he would definitely know real pain.

…..

**I'm back, baby! Oh yeah! :D**

**Please tell me what you thought about it as always.**

**In the next chapter, we'll meet Devi in a bit more depth. (Thanks for letting me use her ilovestormhawks :D)**

**Sooo…. guess I'll see you soon!**

**Ta-ta, Kezzy xxx**


	6. Proof of innocence

**Chappie number 6! Sorry about the wait folks… You know that writers block that I thought I'd destroyed? Well it rebuilt itself. But I've climbed over it so here we are :)**

**I felt like a proper idiot yesterday. I woke up at 6:30 (on a Saturday) so I could be ready to be picked up for gothic weekend at Whitby by my friends. (I'm not a Goth really… it's a 1 off.)Then I find out it's the next day. I'm stood in the house looking like a right weirdo, for no reason. :/ Typical Kerry mistake. Lol.**

**Aaaaaanyways….. Moving on from the embarrassment…..**

**OMG! IT WAS AWSOMETASTIC! I'll change my profile pic to one from then :)**

**Oh and thanks for the review,****RedScarfLuxio****. That's a definite first for anyone to say that about me :\ so yeah… thanks a squillion :)**

**Chapter 6 :)**

…

Devi landed her stolen Cyclonian skimmer next to a dishevelled looking airship, of which, the front end was half buried by freshly disturbed earth.

'_Looks like a crash landing…'_ she thought while checking whether the emblem on the side of the ship matched her memory of the one on Ember's uniform.

After coming to no solid conclusion,_ 'Close enough.'_

She climbed inside through a broken window, into the kitchen area, from which, a green man ran out screaming "She's come back to finish us off… We're all doomed!"

"Okaaay… I wonder where he's off to." Devi decided to follow the paranoid Merb through the corridors to find the rest of the Storm Hawks; all with their fair share of injuries.

She stood out of sight, peering round the corner of the doorway, to see Piper limping over to Aerrow to help with bandage his arm, while Finn and Jake argued over who had the biggest black eye and Radarr held an ice pack to Junko's forehead.

A small sigh involuntarily escaped her mouth as she thought about the poor girl who was forced to do this. Unfortunately, her thoughts had revealed her hiding place, and the Storm Hawks jumped (or limped, rather) into action, expecting a second wave of attacks.

However, Devi didn't run, as the squadron had expected (which was quite a relief) but instead, stood her ground; she was here for a reason.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" said Aerrow bitterly; Ember's supposed betrayal had left him hurt and angered.

His question was answered with another question. "Are you the Storm Hawks?"

"It depends on who's asking."

"My name's Devi Desmonda. I'm here to -" Her introduction was cut short by Finn, who dropped to his knees and begged, "Please don't hurt me! I don't think I can take anymore… I'll do anything!" Everyone just glared at him with disapproval, to which he replied with his signature 'please don't hit me' grin.

"Erm… as much as I would like to take advantage of that, I can't. I'm here to prove Ember's innocence."

"You'll find that difficult. We all saw that it was her that attacked us."

"I'm not saying she didn't. I'm saying she had no control over her own actions. Cyclonis used some kind of crystal to get into her mind. I'm not the easiest person to upset, but those screams -" she broke off, shuddering at the memory. "Let's just say she put up a good fight before being taken over by it. You should be proud of her."

"How do you know all this?"

"I've been undercover for a month or so now. Got up to a pretty high rank too… I was head assistant to the Dark Ace." she blushed at this point, thinking about her guilty crush, but continued. "If I didn't, I would have never seen Ember."

"Wait, did you just say… He's alive!" Aerrow almost whispered because of this news.

Piper knew the conversation was veering off track, even though it was an important and unexpected revelation, the topic needed to change back, so asked "Was the crystal yellow, by any chance?"

"Um, yeah why?"

"That sounds like a mind control crystal, Aerrow. Maybe we were wrong to judge her so fast. Again."

At this point, Stork spoke up. "I presumed it was some sort of genetic disease that she inherited that just hasn't been discovered yet… I think we should still be careful."

Aerrow thought about Piper's comment. "Are you sure those things even exist? Especially after our encounter with Carver."

"Yes, I'm sure Aerrow. I've only read about a million books with articles on them." She smiled, almost teasingly at him. "Trust me."

"Of course I trust you Piper." he said with a small grin. Devi found it very difficult to not to burst into the 'K.I.S.S.I.N.G' song, but managed to fight off the urge. "So are you all just going to stand there, or you going to go and save the poor girl? If it's going to be the latter, I suggest you follow me. I know where she is."

…..

**Sorry again for taking ages… Excuses already given :)**

**Devi was created by ilovestormhawks, so don't give me the credit :) You can if you really want, as long as you pass it along too :)**

**Pleeeeeeeeeease review as always…. **

**Ta-ta,**

**Gothic Kezzy ;)**


	7. Rumours

**CHAPTER 7! OMG! Sorry I'm slipping behind… damn college. Grrr.**

**To Luna and StarKnight: WHERE ARE YOU! I HOPE YOU HAVEN'T ABANDONNED ME….. : _S (sniff)**

**But thank you to the readers who still review. I still like them. ;)**

**Any who…. on with the story :) Chapter 7.**

**(P.S. If you haven't noticed already I'm feeling a bit bitchy today. Sorry. The bus driver decided to make the last stop 5 stops before I get off, so he could do the school run. I HAD TO WALK AN EXTRA ½ HOUR!)**

**Ahem… moving on….**

….

"You wished to see me, master?" Dark ace saluted fist to chest as he approached her.

"Yes. I have a job for you." she stated simply, barely acknowledging him, but then looked him straight in the eye, watching his reaction to the next question. "I need you to dispose of the girl."

"No!" he blurted out, with anger and what appeared to be fear, and without thought. He immediately regretted it.

Cyclonis narrowed her eyes and gracefully floated down to his level from her throne.

"What, did you just say?"

"I -" his head hung as he stared at the floor. "I said no."

Her eyes relaxed into a slightly more concerned expression. "You haven't disobeyed a single order throughout my reign; even if you have needed to be told twice on occasion… Why the sudden change?"

"I… can't." he looked his master directly in the eye with a foreign expression… a look of pleading. "She's my daughter." He expected shock or anger even, but all he received was "Oh… so the rumours were true then. Interesting."

"Wait… You knew and never said anything?"

"Rumours, Dark Ace. Only rumours. You know, I never thought of you as a family man, but congratulations." she said, almost childishly.

He once again dropped the eye contact, and asked, "If you knew, how can you just ask me to _dispose_ _of her_ like that?"

"Because, Dark Ace, she has fulfilled her purpose and she is proving to be a distraction. Besides, recently you've been increasingly unsuccessful on your missions. You need to prove that you are still trustworthy." She turned to walk back to her throne, then added, "You are dismissed." when she saw him standing there in disbelief.

…

**Ok. Short I know. Oh well…**

**Still I hope you enjoyed it! AND REVIEW PEOPLE! I thought I wouldn't have to put up reminders by now, but here I am…. (Hint hint)**

**Cyclonis is such a bitch. Is it just me or am I writing her more evil than she normally is? I can't quite put my finger on it…**

**Anyways, share your thoughts :)**

**Ta-ta, Kezzy xxx**


	8. Abandoned

**:D**

**Hi!**

**StarKnight: Lol. Sorry if it seems like I've been ignoring you… I really really really haven't! Sorry… :S**

**number1stormhawksfan: Thanks :) You're lucky - my phone barely gets the internet never mind reviewing :/ **

**RedScarfLuxio: Don't die! ;)**

**ilovestormhawks: Thanks :)**

**Luna: Where are you?**

**Anyways… here is chapter 8 :)**

….

Devi and the Storm Hawks arrived in Sidana; it's streets patrolled by Talons, and Cyclonian flags decorated every corner.

"We need to get down that street right there." Devi pointed to the alleyway directly in front of them on the left. "Got any ideas on how to get past those guards without them noticing?"

Aerrow looked down to his furry co-pilot. "Radarr, would you mind giving then a little distraction?"

Radarr replied with a look to say 'You owe me' and a disgruntled chirp. Nevertheless, he ran into the street, caught the guards' attention with a raspberry, and ran for his life in the opposite direction, the talons close on his tail.

Now that the coast was clear, the remaining seven carefully tip-toed down the street to heavy looking, riveted iron door.

"She's being held through here. Though this door's bolted on the other side, as far as I can remember, so we'll need -"

"Allow me." Junko stepped in front of the door, ignited his knuckle busters and smashed the door off its hinges.

"Okay… that'll work." Devi watched with wide eyes as the squadron stepped through the demolished doorway, Junko looking particularly pleased with his handiwork.

Down the corridor, were rows of doors on either side, each with a plaque above reading things like 'torture chamber 5' or 'interrogation room 8' and behind each of these doors came moans and screams of terror and pain.

"I - I'm not feeling too good…" stuttered Junko, his ears down and eyes large, and Finn flinched at a distinctly tortured scream. Devi sniggered at Finn, and then tried to put Junko at ease. "Don't worry; it's probably not real anyway. They use recordings to freak people out."

"Well, you can tell them it's working." said Finn before being spooked again, jumping and landing in Junko's arms. (**think shaggy and Scooby-doo :)**)

"This is the one. Aerrow, would you care to do the honours?"

He grinned, and took his place by the door.

"Everyone ready?" the team nodded to their leader. He took out one of his blades with his right hand, and placed his other hand on the door handle. "In 3…2…1…" They charged into the room, weapons ignited and screaming their fiercest battle cry, but it took only a moment for the enthusiasm to be drained from them. The room was empty, except for a chair, with abandoned ropes slung over the back.

…**..**

**Dun, dun, duuuuuun!**

**Mwahahahah! Cliff-hangers are awesome :P**

**Wow. That was a lot longer on paper. Mmm… odd.**

**Any who, review as always, hope you liked it. :)**

**Lots of love,**

**Kezzy xxx**


	9. Realization

**Hey peeps! :)**

**Soz for taking so long... got the plasterers in and getting the floor done too - and it's looking gorgeous if I may say so :) Excited :) Yes, I'm easily pleased.**

**Luna: Okay, I forgive you ;) Hey, maybe I should get a clone too! :) *everyone in the entire world screams NO!***

**RSL: Thanks for the suggestion :)**

**number1stormhawksfan + ilovestormhawks: Thanks :D**

**StarKnight: Shame on you! ;) Gotta keep up!**

**Sooo... here we go - hold onto your hats :) or possibly wigs... Random. Yey!**

**Chapter... um... 10? 9? Whatever. It's the next one.**

**Oh, and if you haven't read 'Ember' yet (not sure if I've got any new readers for this) then I suggest you do; it may be a bit confusing otherwise. But if you can't be bothered, in short Jules is Ember's mum who left Ember at an orphanage and she has never been seen since. **

**Go read!**

**...**

"Let go, right now, or I swear you won't be able to feel the lower half of your body for a month!" Said Ember venomously as she writhed in her father's grip.

"Ember, stop. I'm-" his tone became low and quiet, so that any passing talons wouldn't overhear. "I'm trying to save you, ok? So would you mind laying off on the threats?"

Her struggling seized, and so the grip on her arms was loosened.

"What?" her voice momentarily cracked with emotion, the surprise evident on her face, until she snapped back into her defensive frame of mind. "You honestly think you can save me? Sorry but you're already too late. I was made to do ... god knows what, but whatever it is, I know It'll be something I can never take back or be forgiven for. You're too late because the life I loved is already over and you did_ nothing _to stop that." by now, tears had welled up in her eyes, and a slight shake distorted her words. "Don't bother. I'm just a waste of your time."

'How can she be so ungrateful? So stubborn? How can she hate me so much?' was what the Dark Ace thought as his daughter furiously stormed away from him towards a junction in the corridor while he stood, paralyzed by her hatred of him.

'Somehow, I don't think it's just teenage hormones...' He watched as she disappeared around the left-hand corner.  
'She's right, I shouldn't bother. She's too much like her mother to listen... But then, I still love Jules...' He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, his thoughts conflicting each other. 'She's the only family I've got left... It was awful when I first thought I was alone. It's what drove me to finally go through with the plan, to become who I did. Who she despises.' He looked up, a mixture of realization and determination on his features. 'I've got to put this right.'

...

_With Ember_

'How can he just act like there's nothing wrong? Oh, yeah he's a guy. That'll explain it...' She sprinted down the hallways, desperately searching for the exit, until a noise came from around an upcoming corner. A door opening. It creaked itself shut. Footsteps.

A cleaner's cupboard was a sufficient hiding place to wait for the danger to pass. A small grill in the door allowed her to see the shadow emerge. It wasn't the shape of a human, and now she thought about it, the footsteps weren't human either; more of a quiet, repetitive padding. It couldn't possibly be a talon, so decided to come out of the cupboard, to see non-other than Radarr.

"Radarr!" she leaped out of the door as if she was spring-loaded, gathered him in her arms and spun him around in a tight hug.

After realizing it was Ember who'd ambushed him and catching his breath, he returned the greeting with a cheerful chirp.

"You wouldn't believe how glad I am to see you... where are the rest?"

His reply was a shrug, but then pointed to his eye, then to her.

"They're... they're looking for me?"

He nodded in return.

"EMBER!" Ace's voice rebounded through the passageways - he was close. So close in fact, only two seconds later, he appeared from where Ember had ran from. His eyes landed on the furry blue creature, and narrowed. 'If that's here, then Aerrow won't be far behind, which means the whole lot of them's here... Just what I need.'

...

**I 3 Radarr :) So cute.**

**Sooo... I'm cutting it here for now - can't concentrate with all these power tools and hammers around...**

**Hope you like... please review as always :)**

**Ta-ta,**

**Kezzy xxx**


	10. I can do this

**Hiiiyyyaaaaa! :D**

**Okay people, I've come down with yet another case of writer's block (So StarKnight, your inspiration would be greeeaaatly appreciated around about now :)) So instead of continuing where we left off, I'm going to do a little flashback scene, so you hopefully don't lose interest waiting :)**

**Ace and Jules have some things to tell each other...**

**...**

She stood at the bathroom mirror, staring at herself. As if the reflection would suddenly stop mimicking her, jump out, and tell her what to do.

'I've got to tell him... I can't keep it a secret. Not for long, anyway.  
But what if he doesn't want it? I guess we can jump that hurdle if we get there.  
I've got to tell him... now. I can do this. It's no biggie.'

She took a deep breath, then walked out of the bathroom feeling less and less capable the closer she got to the room Ace was in.  
She got to the door. 'I can do this. I can do this. I CAN do this!' She felt ready - well, as ready as she ever could, so knocked on the door.

"Ace? You in there?"

"Yeah. Come in... I need to talk to you."

'What? Does he know? Don't be stupid Jules, course he doesn't, you've only just found out.'

The door slid open, to reveal Ace looking deadly serious with a possible hint of self pity.

"Ace? What's wrong?"

"I need to tell you something, and I need to know whether you'll stay with me."

Jules smiled "Similar situation here."

He looked up to his love's face with confusion. "Go on, you first then."

"No, no. Mine can wait, it's not going anywhere."

He took her hand in his and took a deep breath. "Jules, would you..." her eyes grew wide with anticipation, under the impression he was proposing "... still love me if I joined Cyclonia?"

She dropped his hand, along with her expression, which was replaced by horror.

"Jules?"

"You... you can't!" she snatched herself away from him when he tried to reach out to her.  
"Stay away from me...and the answer's no if you hadn't already guessed." She pulled out a crystal from her pocket.

"Please don't, Jules. Please..." In a last ditch attempt to make her stay, he asked "What did you want to say?"

"It's really none of your concern now." And with this answer, she activated her crystal, which produced a lilac aura around her, and vanished into thin air.

Ace sat alone in the room for what must have been hours, wishing he could take it all back, but he finally came to this conclusion. 'No turning back now.'

...

The lilac faded from around her. She stood at the base of a fang-like mountain, winged beasts flying overhead. She was on the Far side of Atmos. A fresh start for her, and her unborn child.

...

**So there you have it :) I suppose I could have publised this as a one-shot, but hey, it might not get all my lovely reader's attention that way.**

**Hope you enjoyed it, please review, Ideas will be appreciated :) (I'm stuck. or as Stork would say, DOOMED!)**

**Ta-ta,**

**Kezzy xxx**


	11. Running out of time

***Knock knock* *I open the door to see a post man.*  
****Postie****: Special delivery for… um… Kezzywezzy?  
****Me****: Yup, that be me!  
****Postie****: *Looks at me like I'm insane* Sign here please. *Holds out some weird gadget with a touch screen and pen*  
****Me****: Oooh...pretty gadget. *Signs*  
****Postie****: Enjoy. *Heaves a human sized box through the doorway and walks off*  
****Me****: *Opens box* OH MY GOD! MY CLONE'S ARRIVED! YAY! Clone, would you like to do the shout outs?  
****Clone****: Sure.**

**StarKnight: I like it too, but then I am definitely weird and have issues ;) Oh, so you're going back to aerrowluver now eh? D'you mind if i just keep it to A.L? That'll be easier :) HAHAHA! BIG AL! Ahem... sorry, hyper... And ta for the help :) once again.**

**RSL: :D Nooo! Don't let the mind worms get you! I need your reviews! Oh, and will you be carrying on with 'My life as a sky knight'? Loved that first chapter :)**

**Aerrowsgirl001: Aww thanks :) I guess great minds must think alike ;) I count anyone who reviews as a friend, so no need to ask :D**

**Ilovestormhawks: :D like the profile pic btw**

**So are you going to get on with the story or what?**

**Me****: Okay, okay, don't get your knickers in a twist!**

**Clone****: *Glares***

**Me: ****What? It's a perfectly normal thing to say! Let's just get on with it then.**

**Clone****: Longest A/N ever. **

**Me:**** Here is chapter… 11?**

**Clone****: No, it's 10. The last one didn't really count as a chapter.**

**Me: ****I can send you back ya know!**

**(Sorry if you're a complete wuss, there is a little teency bit of blood in this one)**

…**..**

"We've got to lose him, Radarr." She looked down to him as he galloped on all fours and as she sprinted. "Quick! Down here!"

They slid around corner after corner in sync, gaining an increasingly larger distance between her father and herself, and still managing to avoid talons, until…

CRASH! (And a mysterious stalker chicken noise.)

Ember landed on top of Radarr, who in turn had landed on top of a strangely familiar looking girl.

Ember raised her head just enough to see six pairs of feet belonging to the six people she had wanted to see most for nearly a month now, her squadron.  
She clambered off the pile, receiving a couple of aching groans from Radarr and the girl, to come face to face with Jake. Overcome with emotion, the two ran into each other's arms, tears aplenty.

"Jake! I thought I'd never see you again! You have no idea how much I've missed you... What happened to you?" She stared at the enormous purple blue patch that shadowed his eye, and then noticed the others' bandages and bruises. "Seriously, wha-" but then, she remembered._ 'I was made to do ... god knows what, but whatever it is, I know It'll be something I can never take back or be forgiven for.'_

"Did _I _do... that?" Her fears were confirmed when Aerrow nodded solemnly, obviously knowing this was going to be painful for her to come to terms with.

"I'm so sorry...I swear it wasn't me! Well it was, but Cyclonis did something and-" she desperately tried to explain, but was cut off by Piper, who assured her "It's okay, Ember. We know! Devi has already explained everything. You've got her to thank for us being here."

She looked back at the oddly familiar girl, who was dusting off her knees and re-arranging her now messed-up hair.

"Um, sorry about that... and thanks, I guess - but how did you know?" She stared at Devi trying to grasp the memory of this mystery person, but nothing surfaced.

"I was working undercover as one of the Dark Ace's perso-"

"One of his personal guards! I remember you! You... You're the one that kept looking at him weird..."

She urgently changed the subject. "Well, when I was a guard, I saw Cyclonis start to put you under the control of the crystal, and I'd already got all the info I needed, so I just thought, 'Why not give yourself an extra little mission? It's nothing, really."

"Oh, but it isn't! There has to be something I could do to say thanks..." she trailed off, hinting for suggestions.

Devi pondered for a moment, then an idea leapt into her mind. "You could convince Stork to give me a lift home... No, wait... Scratch that! Could you persuade Jake and Finn to stop having a competition on who can get a kiss from me first?"

Everyone turned to the guilty parties, who had both now turned bright red and dropped all eye contact.

"Although, I'll tell you now, Jake would have won." continued Devi, sensing an awkward moment she could easily play with.

"WHAT?" Finn's jaw dropped momentarily, then he crossed his arms and pouted. "No taste. You just couldn't handle the Finnster."

"Dude, you just got rejected." With this, he slid over to Devi with a sly grin, and said "How would you like to make me the official winner?" His eyebrows danced on his forehead playfully and his lips puckered, until Devi slapped him. Hard.

"Dude, you were saying?" said Finn, struggling to hold back the laughter.

"I can't believe you'd do that Jake! Finn, sure, but you? No way." Ember gave a very stern disapproving, and slightly mocking look to her friend.

"Yeah, well imagine what I'd be like if I had to wait much longer for you to come back!"

"Not worth thinking about... let's get back to the Condor then; I'll never have been happier to see my own room again."

So the reunited squadron began to make their way home, everyone telling Ember of the things that had happened while she was gone, Finn especially, as he bragged about how he sold his most prized possessions to try to get her back, but half way to where the Condor was parked, Aerrow placed a hand on her shoulder, signalling he wanted to talk. The others looked back when they noticed they had separated from the group.

"We'll catch up in a minute, guys." Aerrow told them, and so they continued walking.

"Ember, did they hurt you at all?"

"The Cyclonians? No, not really. Well, a bit when I insulted Cyclonis. To her face. But apart from that and when she made me.. you know..."She shook off the memory - or lack of it rather, still ashamed even though she had been forgiven. "I'm fine, really."

"What about the ones who kidnapped you in the first place?" He didn't like the way she had only specified the Cyclonians, so pushed on. "Did they do anything?"

She looked uncomfortable but answered, nonetheless. "He was going to kill me when you didn't pay the ransom. It was actually the Cyclonians that saved me; if they hadn't have claimed this place as their own when they did, I would have had a dagger in my heart a long time ago."

"Kind of ironic really."

The two spun around to see non other, than Cyclonis herself stood at the end of the corridor, staff in hand, pointed threateningly at them, with a devious grin spread across her face.

"That's pretty much exactly what I had in mind for right now." She glanced to the side, where Dark Ace appeared with an almost glassy expression and his sword ignited. "Dark Ace, would you care to do the honours?"

"Yes master." he replied in monotone, as he stood at her side.

"Get rid of Aerrow first. He's been the biggest annoyance." to which he bowed, while maintaining his glassy expression.

Ember turned to Aerrow, who was readying himself for an attack. "Something's not right Aerrow... it's not really him."

"What?"

"I mean, he's been trying to win me over for the last week, and I know he wouldn't do this."

"You can't trust him; he'll always betray you."

"Think about it Aerrow! She had to tell him to get you first! Don't you think he'd already know that?"

Their conversation continued as they walked backwards away from the steadily advancing Cyclonis and Ace.

"Okay... but why would she ever use mind control on her own commander?"

"A good question, Aerrow." Cyclonis had materialised behind them, catching them highly off guard.

Together, Aerrow and Ember turned and stared at Cyclonis, watching every detail of every movement anticipating attack, however, all they received was an answer to Aerrow's question. "Recently, he's been a little reluctant to go through with certain orders, so I decided he needed a little..." she twirled her hand on her wrist, as if grasping the word from thin air. "persuasion." Her eyes seemed to lead off into the distance and her already wicked smile stretched into one of pure cruelty and joy.

Instinctively, Ember followed her line of vision, to see a glowing red sword, raised above Dark Aces head just a moment away from being plunged into Aerrow. "NO!" She pushed Aerrow away, who was still focused on Cyclonis, with all the force she possibly could.

Instantly, she knew she had saved him from an almost certain death, but in that same moment, she realised this: the blade from which she had saved Aerrow, was now planted in her side, having cut clean through to her back. At first it seemed surreal, like it was just a very convincing special effect in a movie, but then came the very real pain, which became far worse as the blade came free as she fell. After landing with a wet thud, a crimson pool began to form around her.

She was running out of time; fast.

...

**Me: Oh. My. Gaaaaaaawwwdd! I can't believe I just did that! 8_(**

**Clone: What's with the gore?**

**Me: You made me angry.**

**Clone: I suppose it's pretty anti-cliché though...**

**Me: Umm...Yeah... Please review, and please don't kill me!**

**Ta-ta,**

**Kezzy and Clone xxx**


	12. Fallen

**Hello mi dearies! Eeeeee! First snow of the year! Yey!**

**(I've convinced KezzyClone to go to the shops instead of me, so don't tell I'm doing this without her… Pweeeze?)**

**My new profile pic is a little something I did in art, and I'm Sooo proud of it! So, yey. **

**Oh, and if you're wondering what's wrong with Jake when you get to that bit, do you remember back in my first story, he had a bit of a fear of blood? … So don't mind him :)**

**AND WHAT IS GOING ON WITH REVIEWS PEOPLE? ONLY 3 REVIEWERS! Tut-tut.**

**But thank you, big AL (I'm so going to call you that forever! Mwahahahah!), RSL and ilovestormhawks. **

**P.S. The cold gets me grumpy ;) sorry**

…..

"EMBER!" Aerrow ran to his fallen comrade's side, both horrified by what he'd seen, and amazed by what she had done for him.  
He put both hands on the wound and applied pressure to reduce the bleeding, yet the blood still seemed to flow like a never-ending stream, draining Ember of every ounce of energy, and of her life.

As she lay there, becoming weaker by the second, she whispered to Aerrow, "Go. Get out of here… "

"I'm not going to leave you Ember. Not a chance."

"You -" she winced as an immense pain shot through her chest; even breathing was becoming difficult at this stage. "You c-can't defend yours-self if you're minding me… don't... make all this for nothing."

He looked over to Cyclonis to see her giving Dark Ace an extra dose of mind control, as he seemed to start regaining control of himself as soon as he had stabbed Ember. This took time, especially with how much he was fighting against it.

Aerrow raised a bloody hand to the side of his face to activate his ear piece.

"I need backup, now!"

Piper answered immediately. "We're on our way. What's wrong?" She knew it must be serious; Aerrow's tone was exactly this.

"Cyclonis is using mind control on Dark Ace… Ember's down."

"How bad?"

"I…" he looked down at Ember, who had passed out from the pain and blood loss, and hoped she wouldn't hear this. "I don't think she's going to make it…"

"… Just hold on. We're coming."

…

(All the remaining Storm Hawks, minus Stork and Devi who were still on the ship, were stealthily running back to where they had found Ember only minutes before.)

"Piper, what's happening?" asked Jake, unaware of what had just been said on the other end of the line.

She hesitated, but decided to explain everything she knew at this point. "Jake, Ember's been hurt; it sounds bad too… You might want to prepare yourself. "At this Finn and Junko shared worried glances, while Piper hoped her empathy came across to Jake, but he was too swallowed up by the thought that the girl he had grown to consider as a sister was dying, to even notice. He stood still, the magnitude of situation had finally hit home, and it was a huge blow to him.

"Come on Jake. The sooner we get there, the better. Aerrow is alone with Cyclonis and Dark Ace, and he's the only one protecting her."

They continued in silence, Radarr leading the way with his nose to the ground, until his ears pricked as he focused on a scent. It was growing stronger every second - it was close. He stood up and pointed in the direction of the scent to the others. They picked up the pace and were soon at the scene.

Jake would have cried at seeing Ember in this state, but was preoccupied with vomiting out of sight round a corner. The retching noises Jake made while doing this alerted the somewhat disgusted Cyclonis to everyone's presence.

She weighed up the facts. An almost complete squadron, no Dark Ace to help; not really anyway, no talons, they were all either recruiting or trying to conquer the border lines of Sidana where there was still resistance and no particularly useful crystals to hand for this situation. She knew that she would hate herself for this decision. It was becoming a bad habit. However, she still decided to swallow her pride, and promised to herself that she would finish this later.  
With a growl, more directed at herself rather than anyone else, she vanished in a flash of crystal light, leaving behind a dazed and confused Dark Ace, who slowly and groggily came out of the mind control.

He looked around, at first completely unaware of his surroundings, and saw Ember laying in a pool of her own blood being supported by Aerrow. A whisper of a memory urged him to look at his sword, which he did, and saw yet more blood on his very own blade. Then it came back to him - the way Cyclonis seemed to act strangely before it all went blank. _She_ caused this?

He began to run to his daughter's side, until the squadron drew their weapons, taking this as a threat. He raised his hands; he knew he would have to tread carefully now that one of their own was injured. People will act like wild animals to protect those that they care about.

"Please... she's my daughter; I need to help." Their weapons were not withdrawn, but he continued towards her nevertheless, ignoring the sounds of safety catches being released.

Aerrow watched as he approached; he seemed sincere enough, displaying a very rare emotion - concern. His team looked at him, asking whether they should stop Dark Ace, but after a moment's thought, he remembered how Ember had seemed to trust him - how she knew he wouldn't intentionally hurt her. He shook his head, and they stood down.

Ace held her wrist and felt a pulse, though it was very weak. She was barely technically alive.

...

**Mmmm... yeah, this is more of a linking chapter really...**

**But anyways, please review :)**

**Why does it have to be so cold? :_( *tear freezes* **

**Ta-ta,**

**Kezzy xxx**


	13. Awake

**Hi everyone! (Dodges various blunt objects) Um … sorry for the wait folks, but you know what I'm like ^^. First there's a massive writer's block, and then comes along my latest obsession: DeviantART.  
Don't worry, I haven't abandoned you, promise!  
So. Without further ado, please welcome chapter 12.**

**P.S If you have any ideas for names for Kezzy clone please do tell!**

…

Yet another nightmare. Each one would vary slightly; perhaps his eyes would be red, or his dagger would be replaced with Dark Ace's sword, but it would always be the same scenario. Her original captor would loom over her, taunt her with threats, and then plunge his weapon into her torso. She would pass out from the pain, and when she woke up, it would start all over again. Not so much a recurring nightmare, but more a personal hell. This had gone on for what seemed an eternity, though this last time, it was different.  
The man was now just a grey blur against the intense white light that shone into her eyes. He didn't threat her - in fact he didn't say anything, but only moved out of her line of sight when she blinked against the light. When the figure returned, six others came back with him, all jostling for a space to look down at her. Incoherent mumblings soon turned into understandable sentences.

"Yep, she's definitely coming through." "Won't the wound hurt when she's awake?" "No. I've given her some super strength pain-killers I had on board just in case anything like this ever happened. But a word of warning…" "What, Stork?" "You might want to stand back when she wakes up properly. These things are known to cause violent hallucinations…" This was most probably followed by a twitching eye.

A few more blinks, and her vision was clear enough to take in her surroundings. She was in the Condor's medical bay, laying on a bed with crisp white sheets neatly placed over her, and the rest of the squadron watching over her.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty." said Jake, as he sat at side of her on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Uugh... Like crap. Why do I feel so... weak?" Before answering, he and Junko helped her move into a more upright position and handed her a glass of water, which she brought shakily to her lips.

"You're bound to be weak, seen as you haven't moved in the past six weeks." At this, she spluttered out the bit of water that she hadn't had chance to swallow. "Six weeks!" She knew they would think she meant it was a long time, but what she really meant was how short it was; after all it felt like years had passed by in that coma.

Aerrow saw her expression and decided they needded to talk. He turned to the others. "Guys, would you mind letting us talk in private for a bit?"

Several "I'm glad you're back"s and hugs later, Ember and Aerrow were alone. He pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed with a mix of guilt and relief reflecting in his eyes. "Ember, I'm so sorry."

"Why? You haven't done anything to be sorry for... unless you let Finn go in my room. Then you're dead meat." She replied with a playful smirk.

He chuckled, but dropped the eye contact. "If I'd have seen him coming, none of this would've ever happened. You would never have been in a coma and Cyclonis wouldn't have got away."

"Aerrow. You can't take responsibility for everything, you know. If anything, it's my fault. I'm the one who decided to jump infront of a sword."Ember reassured. He smiled, knowing they were still on good terms, and stood up to leave, until she added "But, if you're still feeling guilty, you could always just do something to make it up."

"what like?"

"You could do the cooking instead of Junko. I really don't think I could stomach a sky-squid-suprise in this state."

He smiled and replied "I think I can manage that." He turned and began to walk over to the door, when Ember spoke again. "One more thing Aerrow, what happened to my... I mean Dark ace?"

"He brought you onto the Condor, but he didn't hang around though. Don't know where he could've gone, either, seen as he's left Cyclonia."

"What? He left?"

"Yeah. After betraying Cyclonis by trying to help you, he can't go back. Don't really want to think about what she'd do to him if he did."  
She nodded her understanding, but once he had left, she couldn't help but smile. 'Maybe there's hope for him yet...'

Now that she was alone, she lifted the white cotton sheet to inspect her wound. A white gauze pad covered covered it, attactched with sticking plasters. This was going to hurt. A lot. But still, curiosty got the better of her and so she proceeded to slowly peel away the sticky fabric. Although ripping them off quickly is supposedly less painful, when the wound was as bad as she knew it was bound to be, it wasn't worth the risk of damaging any healing that had taken place.  
The final plaster was off. She carefully and delicately lifted the pad away to see a thin, wide slit that burrowed to the other side. It was held together with messy black stitches, and partially healed. Cringing at the sight, she replaced the pad and plasters and sank back into her pillow.  
Despite the seriousness of her injury, only one thought went through her head. 'Damn. I'll never be able to wear a bikini again.'

...

**That. Was. DIFFICULT! Man it's hard to get back into the swing of writing. But anyways, there you have it and once again, sorry for the wait.**

**Hope you likey AND PLEEEEEAASE REVIEW! Please don't hold a grudge against me :)**

**(And sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes - I'm on Wordpad not word)**

**Ta-ta,**

**Kezzy xxx**


	14. The library

**Me: Hello my dearies! I'm feeling kind of sentimental at the moment, so I'm just going to say thank you for reading my story - even if you don't review (I know you're out there… Mwahahahah) So anyways, thanks. It really means a lot :)**

**Ok! No more mushy stuff ^^**

**Seen as I've only got a couple of name suggestions for my beautiful clone I'm going to wait a bit longer. Don't want to rush into anything, but in the mean time I will give her a temporary one and see how it works out :)**

**C: Seriously, about time! Just don't make it embarrassing, ok? I would hate you forever. And ever and ever and ever and-**

**Me: I get the idea! Well I was thinking of doing something similar to 'big AL'.**

**C: *Raises eyebrow***

**Me: How about we shorten it to KC from Kezzy clone… so it'd be Casey**

**C: Mmm… Okaaay….. Could be worse.**

**Me: BWAHAHA! KFC!**

**C: No. Just… no.**

**Me: *Catches breath from laughing fit***

**C: And if you want more randomness from this creep, then you can go to her profile and click the link to deviant art! We'd both like some comments from friendly faces - well typed letters anyway ^^**

**Me: We're taking too long!**

**C: Ok, lets gogogogogogogo!**

**Me: Chapter 13!**

__

_Somewhere in the town of Audeya, 35 miles from Sidana.  
..._

He seriously wasn't used to this. He should be, considering he was formerly the commander for the entire Cyclonian army; highly trained any prepared for anything, but for the same reason he had become accustomed to luxury and so sleeping rough was definitely taking its toll. No food. Very little money to _buy_ food and he couldn't steal any either - everywhere seemed to be heavily guarded against the threat of Cyclonians and he couldn't risk bringing attention to himself. Nowhere to sleep either. Not that he would've been able to sleep anyway. Scenes of the time that his master - the person he had devoted his life to and technically died for, had made him live his worst nightmare rampaged through his head whenever his eyes closed.  
'I shouldn't have left Ember... What the hell am I doing? She might be dead for all I know... No... she's with the Storm Hawks - She'll be fine... I should be with her... They'd never let me. They're too damn protective. Besides, I couldn't just sit there with them in the same ship - never mind the same room.' he argued with himself in the confines of his mind; the person he was, and the person he would have been with Ember in his life, both battling to get their voices heard.

So Ace trudged onwards through the small town, his cloak concealing his face and the cyclonian uniform underneath.  
He had been walking almost non-stop since the incident, breaks few and far between, determined to complete his personal mission - to find Jules. Ember had re-ignited his interests in finding her which had long ago burnt out. Ember's existence gave him the most drive he had ever felt to get back in touch, and nothing was going to stop him.  
He was following a list of vague tip offs from people who supposedly 'saw everything'. This latest tip off had led him to a library on the outskirts of Audeya. It had obviously seen better days; as the grand, golden banisters that lined the edges of the equally grand staircase stood rotting and dull, and a dusty chandelier hung from the ceiling missing several of its once sparkling gems.

One of the librarians; a stern looking lady with half crescent glasses perched on the tip of her nose, looked up from her place at the desk with suspicion. Despite her body language, she remembered her manners. "What can I do for you sir?"

He pulled a picture from his sleeve and showed it to the librarian. "I need to find this woman. It's an old picture, but if you recognize her at all - "Her expression confirmed that she did. "Where is she?" His tone wasn't directly threatening, yet she somehow knew not to mess with the stranger.

"If I remember correctly, she'll be in the quiet study area."

"Thank you." He said with his back turned as he walked to the said area. Meanwhile, the librarian, still very suspicious of him, pressed a button on her desk, calling for security to be on alert.

Glancing down every aisle, Ace walked down the central passage until he came across a figure shrouded in a lilac velvet cloak sat at one of the desks, scanning a book which appeared to be about crystals. He backed out of sight behind a bookcase, still not certain if it was her, and waited for confirmation. Unfortunately, he took one step too far, and collided with the rack of books which stood behind him. An avalanche of novels poured over him, along with the bookshelf that they rested on. He laid there unable to move, pinned down by the heavy solid wood bookcase, until bands of crystal light energy wound their way around it, and freed him. Ace looked up to see his savior. The figure with the lilac cloak stood over him. She was a slender woman with long, flowing golden hair and rich brown eyes that looked at him with disbelief.

"Ace?"

**...**

**That's all for this chapter folks! Hope you enjoyed as always and please review ^^**

**Hugs, Kezzy xxx**


	15. Together

**VERY MERRY XMAS FROM KEZZYWEZZY AND CASEY!**

**And yes, Ace's hero in the last chappie was Jules ^^**

**Neither of us has really got anything to bore you with today, so… enjoy!**

….

"Ace?" Her eyes were fixated on him, as he pulled himself up from the leather-bound debris. "Is it really you?" Tears welled up at the bottom of her eyes as she gently raised a hand to his cheek, as if assuring herself he was real. He simply nodded - she was just as beautiful as he remembered, until her expression soured, and her once gentle hand, collided with his face in a sharp slap.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING OF? Running of to become some servant to those… monsters? Honestly."

He sighed; he thought she would have been able to forgive him - just a little bit, by now. Obviously though, she could still hold a grudge like her life depended on it. "That was 15 years ago, Jules. Let it go."

"Let it- LET IT GO? You betrayed your team, everything you stood for and the entire Atmos - not to mention me and you tell me to let. It. Go?"

He looked away from the intensity of her stare - the one thing he could never stand about her. "Jules, keep your voice down."

"You can't shut me up just because you don't like reality checks, Ace."

Staring straight over her, he answered "That's really not the reason…"

"Then wha-… Oh." She realised the reason too late, as an immense hand gripped firmly onto her shoulder. She looked up to see an almost seven foot tall, gargoyle-like man wearing the library's smart security uniform, who simply grunted in reply to her look of terror.

Seconds later, the former partners were dumped from the back exit of the library, onto the wet cobbles below, with no appeal.

"Ace, don't bother." called Jules, when he stood up and started to go after the brute. "I'd already finished the chapter I was reading anyway."

Hesitantly, he turned and sat at her side, leaning on the library wall. An awkward silence filled the minutes in which they sat there, until she spoke up, wondering aloud. "How… How did you get here?"

Ace watched a rat scurry past and crawl into a drain before answering. "Don't really remember. All I know is that Cyclonis over-did the crystal energy, and then I just woke up over here."

"So the old cow's still alive then?"

He smirked at her unusual reaction to his little explanation. "No. It's her granddaughter."

"Sooo… You've been working for a kid the last few years then?" she questioned with a doubtful look.

"… She's very powerful. It's a long story."

"Ace, we've got fifteen years to catch up on. I think I can make space for one more tale."

"You… want to catch up?"

She hesitated, but a smile crept onto her face and she nodded eagerly. "Yes. I do. To be completely honest, I… regretted leaving within the first week. Anyway, start with why you decided to find me." She couldn't hide how much she had missed him over the past years - her grin gave it away.

"I've met Ember, and… she's hurt, Jules. Badly. I don't know how she's doing because I've been looking for you."

No trace of her grin remained; only a mixture of shock and pain was left. "Who's she with? You haven't left her alone, surely?"

"No, the Storm Hawks are looking after her."

Jules wiped a stray tear from her cheek "You didn't go through with the plan? Why didn't you just say that before?"

"I did go through with it, just Lightening's son started up a new squad. I'm certain she'll be fine with them, really." at this, Jules was visibly relieved.

"What's she like… all grown up?" she asked.

He stood up, and held out a hand to pull her up. "Tell you on the way?"

She took his hand, and looked into his crimson eyes. "Nice idea, Ace; but I have a feeling she'd be a bit… freaked if she saw us together."

"Oh, so we're together again now are we?"

"Ace! You know what I mean - we're hardly ripping each other's eyeballs out, are we?"

"Do you think… maybe we could try again?"

She looked him up and down, considering her options, and then answered "Maybe."

…

**:3 Daww, they're making up ^^**

**Please review my little elves! Hope you likey ^^ **

**See you next year! O_o Feel weird saying that…**


	16. Merry Xmas :D

**Here is an awsomely long chistmas special... enjoy!**

...

MERRY CRIMBO TO Y'ALL! :D : D :D

...

**Phew, my fingers are on fire! ^^ And to my Australian readers and reviewers, keep safe and dry :) (I need your stats lol ^^)**

**HAVE A GREAT XMAS + NEW YEAR!**


	17. Fancy meals and chess

**Hiya peoples! Happy new year! Whoop! ^^**

**Oh noes… that means my Psychology exam is looming over me… *gulp* **

**Anyways… this chappie is just going to be about how things would work with Ember recovering… so not really much action - but hey, it counts as an update, right?**

**Chapter 15 :)**

…**.**

Ember had sat upright in bed for the first time since the incident only a few hours ago. It had been considerably painful, but she and everyone else knew it was a big milestone in her recovery. Yet once again, she was bored.  
Aerrow had told her about the time when he had to be in a full body cast for five days without moving an inch, though she was pretty sure she had it worse. Of course she could move; but two weeks of never getting out of bed even with the ability to move proved difficult at the least.

Everyone had chipped in to try and make her as comfortable as possible, given the circumstances. Aerrow did the cooking, as promised, Piper had combined a whole range of crystals to help with the healing process and the pain - replacing Stork's home-brewed painkillers. (These had side effects of rashes and vivid hallucinations.) Whilst Junko and Finn played card and board games with her in the day, and Jake and Radarr comforted her through her night terrors.  
Though, in this late stage, the activities and the menu had grown dull; the novelty of being waited on 24/7 had truly worn off.

So there she sat, propped up against the pillows, weaving a loop of string between her fingers; desperately trying to remember the next move in cat's cradle, whilst Finn's finger tapped his chin as he thought about his next move on the chess board.

"Finn. You've been thinking about that move for the last ten minutes. Just choose one and move it." she glanced up at him as she said this, and dropped a loop from one finger, unravelling the entire frame of intertwined string. "Aww… look what you made me do."

"I am not going to lose another game of chess to you, Ember, no matter how much you try and distract me."

"Pffft… I'm not distracting you. You're just rubbish at this game."

"Am not!"

"You've so far taken…" she paused to look at the clock. "Eleven minutes now to choose what piece to move."

"So? You gotta think about these things."

"Seriously? IT'S THE FIRST MOVE FINN! It doesn't matter which one you pick _that_ much."

"So who's winning?" Aerrow stood at the door, smirking at their attempt to play nicely, and holding a tray of Ember's lunch.

"Unfortunately, because of _someone_ we haven't got that far yet… So what's for dinner today?" she asked eagerly, rubbing her hands together.  
Aerrow set the tray down on her lap, so she could see his latest creation - a platter of fine delicacies.  
"Oooh, fancy… what's the special occasion?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Well… we've all agreed that it's time we start getting you walking again."

"You mean it?"

"Course I do. We need you back; we're um… actually lost again as we speak."

"In that case, let's start now - sounds like you need it." she said, stuffing a bite-size piece of cheese into her mouth.

"No, we'll start tomorrow morning - you need to get all the rest you can before we do. It isn't going to be easy."

"Hmm… okay. Aerrow, before you go … tell Finn to make a move soon. He is driving me mental."

Rather than saying anything, Aerrow walked over to Finn and moved the first piece he laid eyes on. "There you go." and walked out of the room with nothing more to say.

"I was totally going to pick that one anyway."

….

**Okey pokey… the next one **_**should**_** be on soon but don't count on it - we all know how reliable I am ^^;**

**Hope you enjoyed, **

**Kezzy xxx**


	18. Smoothie Surprise

**Me: Before you butcher me and dump the evidence in a river, let me just say there was goooooood reasons behind the delay… sorry… please don't hate me *Big eyes + wobbly lip*  
If I told you it all, then this A/N would be longer than the entire story, so ya.  
But in short, I quit college because of unbearable stress levels, thought everything was fine, then this guy that I haven't seen in a year asks me out. I didn't feel quite the same way and well… It all caused a HEEEUUUUGGGGEEE writer's block...**

**BUT I AM BACK FOLKS! And you should probably know this is the penultimate chapter to this story!  
'How could you be so evil?' you ask? Well never fear! For there is another sequel brewing in my mind which promises to be more epic than anything else I have written! (Which is not much ^^ ;) **

**So onwards to chapter 16! :D **

**Casey: 'Bout time…**

**Me: Enough of that. :(**

…

Ember's face was firmly planted in her pillow, her arm freely dangled over the side of the bed and a bare foot poked out from under the covers.  
Sleep had _finally_ been kind enough to take her away after hours of tossing and turning, caused by the aches and pains of physio. Finally, all the stresses of recent events were washed away, until a harsh electronic bleep tore her from her dreams.

"No fair…" she whimpered before turning to the evil device and giving it a death glare.  
With a reluctant grumble, she sat upright and grasped her crutches from the end of the bed.

Hobbling through the door to the bridge, she was greeted by Jake, who was sat with everyone else around the circular table in the centre of the room.

"Hey, the zombie's up before noon!"

She was going to come out with a snappy come-back, but caught the reflection of herself from the window - his description was pretty much dead on.  
A skinny, fragile looking girl, with heavy dark circles under her eyes and something that resembled a hay-stack for hair.  
She let it pass, and dumped herself at the table.

"So… no sleep again?" asked Piper, being far more compassionate than Jake, who was giggling at her half-dead appearance between slurps of orange juice.

Ember shrugged in reply. "Probably got an hour and a half - better than last night anyway."

Looking down at her bowl of soggy high-fibre cereal, she felt sympathetic eyes on her.

"Really - don't worry. I'm fi-" her assuring was cut short by her own yawn. "fine. But I don't suppose we've got anything more … sugary? I really need an energy boost."

"No. What you _need_ is sleep. Piper, you sure there's nothing more we can do?" Aerrow asked, turning to his crystal expert.

"Sorry, no. If I use any more crystals, we'll risk overdosing. That could take her back into another coma."

A thought filled silence hung in the room, until Junko perked up, and called out "Hey guys? I got an idea!" He said this with so much enthusiasm, that even Ember managed to look up.

"Remember the time I made a 'smoothie surprise' and it knocked Finn out cold for 3 hours?"

Finn obviously remembered all too well, and looked repulsed at the memory.

"Well I'm sure I could whip one up in no time."

She sat and thought about the Wallop's proposal - sacrifice sleep or her taste-buds… a tough call.

"You're not seriously considering it, are you?" questioned Stork; a signature twitch developing in his left eye. "There's no telling the level of brain damage that could cause…"

"Well… I am desperate enough…"

Radarr leapt onto her lap shaking his head with a whimper, which could only mean 'Don't do it.'  
After a couple more seconds thought though, she looked up to the dreadful chef. "Junko, do your worst. I want to be out cold before I can even taste it."  
At this, his eyes lit up - _someone was actually requesting his cooking!_ And so he skipped off to the kitchen, the entire ship groaning in his wake, while everyone else just gave her a look to say 'You're _so_ going to regret that.'

Five minutes later, Junko arrived back on the bridge, carrying a freshly brewed serving of 'smoothie surprise' and placed it in front of the nervously awaiting Ember.

"Mmm looks… lovely." She said with a sweet smile as to not hurt his very delicate feelings, but truthfully, it was the worst thing she had ever laid eyes on.  
The greeny-brown sludge bubbled like boiling tar, and each bubble popped with a neon green gas which smelt an awful lot like stink eggs… though the glass was decorated with a mini parasol, so it wasn't quite as offensive on the eyes.

Aerrow sat opposite, trying to talk her out of it; telling her that they'd find some other way - but she had waited too long, and as much as she knew she would regret the glass ever touching her lips, she knew it would be worth it in the end.  
Without warning, so not to let anyone else, or even herself for that matter, change her mind, she took a lungful of air, pinched her nose and downed the glass in one go.

Everyone looked on in horror, with the exceptions of Junko, who just wanted to see if his toxic brew had worked, and Stork, who ran out of the room looking greener than usual.

"How are you feeling, Ember? Ember?" Aerrow's only expression was now concern.

She was struggling to keep her vision in focus, her body lurched from side-to-side, before collapsing onto the table face-first.

"Oh no…" said Finn with a nervous chuckle.

"What Finn?" collectively asked every other conscious person in the room.

"Umm… well remember how I only managed a mouthful of that stuff and it KO'd me for 3 hours? Well, she just had a full glass… "

Piper resisted the urge to face-palm. "Anything else you've forgotten to mention, Finn?"

He shrunk back and gave a sheepish grin before turning to Junko. "I'll come and help you take her to her room."

"Oh it's alright Finn, I can manage on my own."

"No, really, I want to help." And so when Junko lifted her with ease, he uselessly took hold of her legs and 'helped' carry her away.

Aerrow saw Piper's look of annoyance. "Don't worry. It's probably for the best anyway." he said with a playful nudge of his elbow.

Her expression softened, and was about to speak, when there was a knock at the hangar door.  
Sharing a confused glance, they decided to see what it was together, leaving Jake to slurp the last of his juice alone.  
Half way, there was another round of knocks, faster and more urgent than before.  
Sprinting the rest of the distance, they reached the hangar bay, where Piper pressed the door release switch.

It rose up painfully slow, to reveal two pairs of feet, then two cloaked bodies, and eventually, two faces; one of which was all too familiar.

"Dark Ace. What are _you_ doing here?" Growled Aerrow, instinctively getting into a more battle-ready stance.  
Ace started towards him threateningly, but was stopped by a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Let me handle this, Ace." said the other figure, in a voice equally as gentle as her touch.

She stepped up to the two Storm Hawks. "Hello, I'm Jules, Ember's mother. We've come to see our daughter - could we come in?"

….

**Whooo…. that took some writing ^^;  
Anyways, sorry again for the wait. The finale **_**shouldn't**_** take as long, but yeah… last time I promised anything, it didn't turn out quite as planned did it? ^^; but yarp. Will try :D**

**Please review peeps!**

**Kezzy xxx**


	19. Oh shizzle :O

Well. This is awkward. The final chapter - Le grande finale! And I get shot down by W.B. yet again...

No excuses this time. I'm sorry!

I've looked through my notebook to find I have re-written the first paragraph 38 times - and I'm not happy with a single one... I am trying every waking hour of every day to get this chapter written but... well I bet you've guessed by the time I've taken so far that I'm pretty damned stuck. So there.

If anyone has a miraculous cure for the dredded block, do tell!

Sorry again,

Kezzy xxx


	20. Distress

**Iniquity, Absolution and Justice - Final chapter - (Pt. 1) (Finally ^^; ) **

**Well… been a while… *Bricked***

**Anywhozey, the only reason this chapter is being read by you, (you lovely, lovely, patient person) is because of angel on wings, who got the cogs turning! So everyone - thank Angel!**

**Admittedly, I haven't used much of the idea, but without it, I would still have been re-writing the first paragraph over and over again - so once more THANK YOU VERY MUCHLY! And as cheesy as it sounds, you really have been an angel. :D**

**So now, having been told to give up by my mum on various occasions, we have Le Grande finale! (Part 1, anyway - it's a biggy.)**

**One more thing.**

**SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRYSORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY.**

**Kay. I'm done. Story time! :D**

**READ EET. NAOW.**

…**.**

_(The Condor- Ember's room)_

"Ace?"

"Hmm…?" He stared out of the window absent-mindedly, as Jules moved from the seat by her daughter's bedside, to where he stood.

"Thank you." Her whisper tickled his ear, as her arms wound around him from behind, and her lips planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

"…And what's that for?"

"For bringing me here to see our little girl… despite how much you seem to hate these kids she lives with." She giggled slightly as she added "And for not killing anyone."

"Not yet, anyway."  
She just smiled at his childish tone, and gazed out at the green sunset with him; resting her head on his shoulder.

Although the Cyclonians may have toughened his shell, and seemed to have scraped away his emotions at first glance - deep down he was still the sharp minded, thoughtful, roguish young man she fell in love with all those years ago.  
Their time alone trying to find the Condor had given her the chance to uncover this side of him - and she'd missed it so much.

Only thirst was able to persuade her to peel away from Ace's warmth, and walk over to the door.

"Ace, I'm going to ask for a drink. D'you want me to try getting something for you too?"

"…Doubt they'll let me have anything, but water would be fine."

She nodded her understanding, but her eyes were now focused on Ember's sleeping form; still under the effects of Junko's 'smoothie' and tucked into her bed.

She couldn't help but panic a little.  
Of course she was happy to be seeing her estranged daughter… but there was an annoying little voice at the back of her mind that said 'She'll never forgive you. Not after this long.'  
And as much as she hated to admit it, there _was_ a possibility of that voice being right.

Ace noticed her distress, but read it differently. "I'll keep an eye on her, don't worry."

She gave him a small smile of thanks, and headed off on her errand. He needn't know about her nervous doubts. Not after searching for weeks on end, just so they could be reunited.

Once Jules had left the room, Ace took her seat by Ember's bed and looked down at his sleeping daughter.

'_Daughter_…' That word still hadn't quite sunk in yet.  
What he couldn't quite grasp though was how similar to Jules she was. Aside from the obvious hair and eye colours, she was a spitting image of her mum in earlier years.  
Personality-wise, the resemblance just grew stronger. Even though they'd not really spoken all that much, he could see Ember and Jules were both just as quick to judge and as stubborn as each other; Jules had left him with no chance of explaining himself or changing his mind, while Ember had decided she hated him from the very moment they met… but he hoped he would be able to change her opinion of him in time._  
_'Obviously, she must be strong in her mum's better traits too, seen as the _oh so perfect_ Storm Hawks have her on the team…'

He grimaced at the thought of them.  
Even now Cyclonis was a common enemy; neither disliked the other any less.

He was distracted from his thoughts by movement in front of him, as Ember rolled onto her side, back facing him, and snuggled into the pillow.  
Ace leant forward to check she was still asleep. If Jules didn't come back soon…

Too late.

Her eyes fluttered open, greeted by the after-glow of sunset coming in through the window. Looking over to her small bedside table, she read the clock sat on it.

'17:42' was spelt out in a dull green glow of crystal energy, meaning she'd had nearly six full hours of sleep - a miracle by her recent standards.

She stretched; relieved to no-longer feel half dead, but froze when her name was spoken from behind her.

"Ember?"

'That voice… surely it couldn't be…?' She dared herself to look back - and confirmed her fear.

She scrambled backwards until her back was pressed against the wall; her shock plain to see.

"What are you doing here?"  
He noticed her eyeing the crutches at side of the bed; perhaps thinking of using them for defence, if need be.  
He leant back into the chair, trying to seem as small a threat as possible.  
"I… never really got the chance to make up for what happened the last time we met…"

Her only reply was a distrustful raised eyebrow.

"I just hope this will go some way to put things right."

Confusion replaced the majority of her distrust.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I've brought someone with me… I have a feeling you'll really want to meet them."

She thought for a moment, no names coming to mind, other than 'That cute bass player from the Killjoys? ... Nah. '  
"Go on then. Who?" She folded her arms, still fairly suspicious of him.

"…" He opened his mouth to speak, but Ember was already given her answer.  
Jules walked in carrying a bottle in each hand, studying them alternately.

"Sorry I took so long Ace; they had to crack open a new supply crate. You've got a choice of still or…" and that's when she noticed Ember, sat upright and staring at her in utter disbelief. "…sparkling…"  
The bottles slipped out of her grasp, the lids bursting off on impact with the floor, liquid spilling over the deck-plates.

Her breath caught in her throat as she started to back away slowly. "I… I'm sorry…I can't…" she stammered before slipping out or the door.

"Jules! Wait…" Ace looked back and forth between the empty doorway and Ember; who was looking more bewildered than anything else, before taking off after Jules.

He ran out, and turned the corner to find her slumped by the doorframe, head in hands, sobbing quietly to herself.

"Jules… what's wrong? I thought you wanted to see her…"

"I did… I mean, I do it's just…" she swallowed back the sobs and took a moment to re-compose herself, before continuing. "She'll hate me… I know it."

"How can you say that?" he slid down the wall to sit next to her.

"I _abandoned_ her, Ace… My own daughter and I left her with complete strangers. How could she _ever_ forgive me?" The sobs re-surfaced, leaving her to desperately cling to Ace's arm.

"Jules. Look at me." he said, gently tilting her chin with his hand, so her eyes met his, and wiping away her tears with his thumb. "You're going to be fine. And do you know how I know that? Because I've seen how much she's like you."

"How could that ever mean things will be fine?"

"I mean she has your heart… You forgave me, didn't you?"

"Mmhmm…" she nodded with a sniffle.

"Well then, she'll forgive you. Now you get in there and talk to her… otherwise you really will have something to regret."

She pulled away from him, wiped her eyes and took a deep steadying breath.

"Do I look like I've been crying?"

"It really doesn't matter, but no. You look fine."

She stood up, straightened out her clothes and swept off a thin layer of dust which her cloak had picked up off the floor.

Even with Ace's support, the idea of stepping back through that door seemed the most daunting thing she could ever do. Over 10 years she'd waited for this moment, but right there, stood at her daughter's door, Ember fully awake inside… she felt the overwhelming urge to run. Run and never stop - just as she had from Ace all those years ago - until his lips claimed hers, in an impassioned kiss.

"Go on. She needs you."

With all-new determination, she strode up to the doorway and looked back at him to mouth the words "I love you." before stepping into the room.

When she was out of view, his expression turned to one of concern.

'I just hope I'm right about Ember…'

…

**Loooooonnnnnggggg chaaaaappptterrrrrrrrr…. but not as long as your wait… sorry ^^; seriously.**

**Besides, this chappie **_**technically**_** isn't over yet. This is just part one :D Part 2 is the real final chapter I suppose… but it's the same chapter in my eyes. Then there's an epilogue… but I might put that in part 2… *shrugs***

**Anywhozey, I'm not going to try and predict when the next instalment is published…. It's a bad omen.**

**Ta ta, peeps! :D**

**-Kezzy-**


End file.
